In Case You Were Wondering Why

My dad is not a big talker. He doesn’t wax poetic about the past and he rarely pulls out a symbolic euphemism. I hardly ever hear him talk about his personal history, although he will go on for hours about the history of the world. It’s hard for me to see what he’s done in his life and find ways to connect. He’s a microbiologist who’s studied organisms in space. He’s a former college basketball star, who almost gave up school to go to the major leagues to play baseball. He’s a poor city kid, oldest of six, who supported his family financially as a teenager while his former war-hero father gambled away the family funds. His life is an incredible story, but not very relatable to his children, all of whom grew up with all the things they could ever need or want. He gave us everything, and in turn, we find it difficult to understand him.

As we stood in line at the Obama rally a few weeks ago, my dad started talking about political battles past. He remembered voting for the independent candidate the year Reagan won, and not being able to forgive himself. He talked of the sixties, when he had two kids he was raising in a world very similar to the one I’m raising my daughter in now. A country living in fear, beginning to rise up and creativity exploding all around.

He talked about the day my sister was born. April 4, 1968. How surreal it was, to step out of the hospital and see the chaos around him. In Philadelphia, the news that Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. had been killed had just broken. He said he would never forget that moment. Pure joy on one hand, and absolute sadness on the other. He was afraid the country wouldn’t recover. So much had been gained, and now, so much had been lost. And he had a daughter to raise in that mess.

Watching my dad support Barack Obama has been one of the most enlightening things I’ve ever experienced. Seeing him believe in something so strongly, feeding off of his optimism, discussing all of the issues, debating and thinking. How will we change this world? How will we make it better? What can we do to bring a country, that has been so divided, to one common purpose?

I did my part today. Did you?

We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature. – Abraham Lincoln, in his inaugural address (via Sweet Juniper)

I am ready. I have done all I can. I hope my country steps out of the darkness today, but if not, we must continue to fight. The world did not change with one voice, but with the voices of many.

Two voting stories I think you should read:

Volunteer

I’ve Got a Box of Franzia Ready Either Way

If you are having ANY problems at all voting today, if anyone tries to give you a provisional ballot, if you are turned away at the polls or see any fliers or get any calls with misleading information tomorrow please, please, PLEASE call 1-877 OUR VOTE or text your question to RTVOTE. This is not some wacky conspiracy theory – there have already been 80,000 complaints made about voting problems.